Tag: NHL

Sharks Defeat Capitals in Shootout

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By Mary Walsh

It could be hard to remember when the Sharks struggled in the shootout, since they have now won in five in a row. Their defeat of the Washington Capitals on Tuesday was not a dominant one, but it was worth two points. It was also worth pride points, as the Sharks extended their current winning streak against Washington to six, and 17-1 since 1999.

After the win, Sharks Head Coach Todd McLellan described the game in subdued terms:

It was important for us to start the trip off the right way. [It was] kind of a back and forth affair: they had some momentum, we gained it back. Close game, two pretty good teams that played pretty well.

The modest 2-1 final score was a good indicator of the kind of game it was: a tough defensive game that didn’t leave the star shooters a lot of room to meneuver. The goals were scored by Tyler Kennedy for the Sharks and Alex Ovechkin fo the Capitals, with Patrick Marleau scoring the shootout winner. The final shot count was 36-29 for the Capitals. Each team had one power play, neither gave up a power play goal.

Patrick Marleau spoke during the post game for CSN:

Coming out east we took a little while to get warm, into the game.

They hemmed us in early on but we stuck with it. We were able to get our forecheck going in the first kind of went back the other way in the second, but we came in with a good effort in the third and in overtime.

Washington had 5 shots to the Sharks’ 1 in the first five minutes of the game. The first slip-up came during a line change that let Alex Ovechkin enter the Sharks’ zone with only three players defending. That seemed to set off an offensive flurry for the Capitals.

A very fast fight between Mike Brown and Aaron Volpatti at 11:39 broke up the game, and shortly thereafter Tyler Kennedy scored the first goal of the game.

At 13:30, when Tommy Wingels went off for a change, Kennedy went to the middle of the ice and got to the net in perfect time to deflect a shot from Jason Demers. At intermission, Kennedy described the play:

He made a great change in the offensive zone, and I tried to get out there. And JD made a great pass … that’s a world class pass there and I just tried to get it on net.

By the end of the period, the shots stood at 11-10 Sharks.

Going in to the second period, the Sharks’ weak spot lately, San Jose was lucky to not have worse luck to go with their inefficient puck management.

It took the Capitals almost thirteen minutes to tie the game up in the second period. The goal came from Alex Ovechkin, who took a fast shot from a bad angle and put it up the into the far corner. It was his first shot of the game, off a pass from Karl Alzner. The puck blew past Brad Stuart and Antii Niemi before anyone had time to react.

Nieto and Pavelski changed places on the top two lines at the end of the second period. In a last-second flurry of offense, Brad Stuart scored just after the buzzer. The goal was quickly reviewed but the period ended with the teams still tied.

The second period ended with the shots at 11-9 Washington.

The third period opened with some pressure from Washington, but that fizzled quickly with the first penalty of the game, a tripping call against Nicklas Backstrom.

The Sharks started their power play with a clean breakout and a quick shot on net, but Capitals’ goaltender Philipp Grubauer suffocated the shot and stopped play. After the faceoff, the Sharks had some trouble getting out of their own end, and the next zone entry produced just one shot on net.

The teams traded chances after that, with each taking long turns on the attack. In the first seven minutes, the shots for the period were 5-3 Sharks.

Ten minutes in to the third period, the Sharks were spending a lot of time in their own zone. Niemi had to make a point blank save on Eric Fehr, after he was left to saunter out from behind the net and shoot at will.

That seemed to wake the Sharks up and spur them back onto offense. Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski had the best chances of that shift when they each took a try, Marleau’s shot hitting the post and Pavelski’s ending up in Grubauer’s glove.

After the game, Marleau spoke about the team’s improved play in the third period:

I think we got a lot more time in their zone so it was just trying to get to those loose pucks after we got shots from our point. I think the D played really well tonight, moving the puck back and forth and getting the shots through.

It would be nice to find a couple of those rebounds and put them in but for the most part, we’ll take the two points.

During the last four minutes of the game, McLellan made another lineup change, moving Marleau to the line with Thornton and Nieto, or so it seemed. Thornton was right back out with Burns and Nieto a couple of shifts later.

With a minute and 15 seconds left, the Capitals got their first power play when Marleau was called for hooking Grabovski. McLellan mentioned that after the game:

We almost got it to the point where we didn’t take a penalty, using our legs to check instead of our sticks or our hands. Worked until that last minute but the penalty kill did a good job.

Regulation ended in a tie, with the shots for the third period standing at 13-8 for Washington.

As the game went to overtime, the Capitals had 45 seconds remaining on the man advantage.

Two faceoff wins helped the Sharks kill that off, and the four on four play moved very fast after that. Good chances for Marleau and then Fehr came to naught, turnovers and takeaways kept attacks brief for both sides.

With just over a minute left in overtime, Marc-Edouard Vlasic pestered Jason Chimera relentlessly in the Sharks’ zone, staying with him all the way around the ice and behind the net, until Chimera lost an edge and went down. Still Vlasic kept after him, jostling him so he couldn’t get to his feet. Chimera finally did get up, and on the way he clocked Vlasic in the face with a quick left hand. No penalty was called, though Vlasic was clearly unsettled by the punch.

The teams survived the next minute without scoring and went to a shootout.

Of the six shooters, only Patrick Marleau scored:

I was just trying to use Logan’s move a little bit. He’s had some success with it so I just did that, went to the backhand a little bit then quick to the forehand.

Roster notes:
Matt Irwin back in the game after missing two games with injury. Scott Hannan sat, as did James Sheppard and Matt Tennyson.

The Sharks next play on Thursday in Florida against the Panthers. Puck drop at 4:30 pm PT.

Sharks fall at home to Bruins

Published on by philliptorres2013Leave a comment

By: Phillip Torres

SAN JOSE-The San Jose Sharks (28-12-6) hosted the Boston Bruins (29-14-2) at the SAP Center in San Jose on Saturday night. San Jose was handed a rare loss at home as they fell 1-0 to Boston. The loss dropped the Sharks home record to 16-2-3. San Jose had not lost at home December 10, 2013 against the New York Islanders. That loss came via a shootout. Bruins goaltender, Tuukka Rask, pitched a shutout and recorded 26 saves on the night.

Antti Niemi played stellar all night recording 22 saves on the night, but one got past him in the third and final period, the lone goal of the game. Niemi played well throughout the entire game and kept Boston off of the board until Carl Soderberg scored a goal at 12:25 in the final period.

The first two periods of the game were a defensive showcase as both teams played extremely well and held the offenses scoreless for a little over the first 47 minutes of the contest.

Both teams had opportunities to put the puck in the net but great play from both goaltenders prevented that from happening. The Sharks seemed to play better in the first period, and the Bruins seems to have outplayed the Sharks in the second period. Either way both teams failed to get the goose egg off of the scoreboard until the third period.

Ultimately, Rask played slightly better than Niemi as Soderberg was able to push across the lone goal of the game   midway through the third and final period. It was Soderberg’s sixth goal of the season. Soderberg knocked in the wrist shot with assists from Loui Eriksson and Ryan Spooner.

The Sharks will be back on the ice on Tuesday as they will travel to Washington to take on the Capitals.

A Quick Look at the Worcester Sharks’ Record

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By Mary Walsh

Tyler Kennedy and Tommy Wingels are back in the lineup, so the San Jose Sharks aren’t quite so reliant on the recently arrived or inexperienced players they turned to back in Nashville.  More players should return soon, but it speaks volumes for the organization that they could weather this rash of injuries to key players at all.

At second intermission of the Nashville game, Joe Pavelski talked about the younger players suddenly so numerous in the Sharks lineup:

Obviously they’re excited to be here playing, and you … give them a tip or two here or there. You know they’re good players, they’re here for a reason and they’ll learn on the job and, you know, just get out there and do it.

Those young players did bring a lot to the game. Freddie Hamilton played well, despite the quick round trip off and back on the roster. Matt Nieto showed outstanding composure in the last minutes of the game, puck-handling in the offensive zone and ultimately finding Patrick Marleau for a last-minute goal.

It is important not to think of the guys who came out from Worcester as anything but professional hockey players. As Pavelski points out, they shouldn’t need a lot of prep, and in theory the coaching staff in Worcester has taught them the fundamentals of the Sharks’ systems.

Saturday, the Worcester Sharks won 5-1 against the Norfolk Admirals.  Friday, they won 3-1 over the Hartford Wolf Pack. The wins stand out because the Worcester Sharks have had a lot of trouble scoring goals this season. They have scored more (8 back on December 6) but mostly not.

Right now, their 81 goals have them tied for last in goal scoring in the AHL. Last season, they finished ahead of three teams in goals. The season before that, in 2011-12, five teams had fewer goals. In 2010-11, three did. Back in 2009-10,  only one team in the AHL scored more than the Sharks’ 275 goals.

Wait, what? There were a lot of familiar names on that roster: Logan Couture scored 20 of those 225 goals. John McCarthy scored 15, Andrew Desjardins 19. Jamie McGinn was also on that team, as were Jason Demers and Justin Braun. Well, Braun only played three games that season, but he came away with 3 assists. You get the picture.  It was one heck of an AHL roster. Since then, scoring goals hasn’t been so much what the Sharks’ AHL team does.

What about defensively? This season, nine teams have given up fewer than the Worcester Sharks’ 97. Last season, 23 teams gave up fewer goals than Worcester.  Oddly, only three gave up more goals, as Worcester was one of three to give up 228. In the short view, that is a significant improvement.

In 2011-12, 17 teams gave up fewer than Worcester’s 218. In 2010-11: 18 gave up fewer than the Sharks’ 245 goals against. 2009-10: 17 gave up fewer. So it is safe to say that this years’ Sharks are better defensively than the team has been in a while. Maybe the goaltenders are to blame for those bad seasons?

This season, their goaltenders are Harri Sateri and Troy Grosenick.
Sateri has played three full seasons with Worcester, 20 or more games in each season. His save percentage is down this season from the prior two, at .890.

Grosenick has played 15 games this season, with a save percentage of .920.

Alex Stalock played 30 or more games in 2010-11 and 2012-13, with save percentages of .907 and .912 respectively. He also played 61 games in the 2009-10 season, his first with the team. He had a save percentage of .908 that season.

Tyson Sexsmith played 34 games in 2011-12. His save percentage was .916.

Carter Hutton played 22 games with Worcester in 2010-11. His save percentage was .902.

Goaltending doesn’t jump out as the issue with the Sharks’ goals-against problem from 2011-13. Seems like too many shots were getting through.

This could be the Worcester Sharks’ best season defensively in quite a while. Offensively, the improvement isn’t there. Do the Sharks lack scoring depth? Or is the system in Worcester slanted for defense?

Either way, if the Sharks really want more offense from the NHL club, it probably won’t come from Worcester. Not this season anyway.

Predators Bring Down Sharks 3-2

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By Mary Walsh

Amid the hubbub of Olympic roster announcements Tuesday, the San Jose Sharks had a game to play in Nashville. They lost 3-2, but made a game of it despite yet more changes to their lineup, including the loss of Logan Couture to injury. Couture is scheduled for surgery, and is expected to be out for three to four weeks.

The Sharks were still without Tommy Wingels (upper body), Martin Havlat (lower body), Tyler Kennedy (flu) and Tomas Hertel (knee). No reinforcements were coming from the old list of injured, no Raffi Torres, no Adam Burish. Freddie Hamilton had just been sent down to Worcester, while Matt Nieto, Bracken Kearns and Eriah Hayes stayed with the big club. Hamilton was called right back up.

The game was an opportunity for new players to step up. One always wants a win, but it is not surprising that recently-arrived players in new positions, with new linemates, will probably need more than one practice to get in sync. Seeing the team find some cohesion as the game wore on should make the loss a little more palatable.

A failure to call goaltender interference in the second period made the Predators’ game winning goal count. The official explanation was that Marc-Edouard Vlasic had pushed Colin Wilson into Antti Niemi. Todd McLellan said a few words about that after the game* (from CSNCA broadcast):

Even if there was a touch of contact there, you’re not allowed to jump on top of the goaltender. We all know that, there’s a lot of people that understand that, but… it happened.

The game started out inauspiciously, when Joe Thornton was called for hooking just ten seconds into the game. The Predators’ power play was ranked 7th in the league. The Sharks’ penalty kill was ranked 14th. The Sharks killed the penalty, despite some failures to clear.

At 8:57, Matt Cullen was called for interference on Jason Demers, putting the Sharks on the power play.  It was an unspectacular power play. They only mustered one shot with that man advantage.

Possibly the Sharks’ best chance of the period came in the final minute, when Matt Nieto passed the puck from the blue line to Patrick Marleau in the slot, with Joe Pavelski in range of a rebound. Apart from that, the first period was a grind, at least for the Sharks.

The Predators kept them well to the outside whenever they gained the offensive zone. At the end of the period, the Predators led 10-7 in shots on goal and 9-4 in faceoffs.

At 6:11 of the second, David Legwand opened the scoring to give the Predators the lead. Joe Thorton and Jason Demers were both trying to move the puck away from Craig Smith but the puck got through both of them. Legwand got behind Demers and put a shot past Antti Niemi on the far side. It was Legwand’s first goal in 11 games. Assists went to Smith and Shea Weber.

The Sharks answered a few minutes later with a power play goal, after Mattias Ekholm was called for delay of game at 6:11. Joe Pavelski tipped a Dan Boyle shot from the blue line to tie the game. It was Pavelski’s 19th goal of the season, his 10th in the last 14 games. Assists went to Boyle and Demers.

Less than a minute later, the Predators retook the lead. Despite good pressure from Justin Braun, Ekholm got a backhand shot off, with good traffic in front of Niemi. The assist went to Legwand. It was Ekholm’s first NHL goal.

The Predators’ third goal came after Colin Wilson fell across Niemi’s right leg, pinning him in place and leaving the net wide open for Nashville defenseman Roman Josi’s shot. Officials apparently believed Wilson was pushed by Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Assists went to Weber and Wilson.

The Sharks didn’t score on their next power play, when Nick Spaling was called for holding the stick at 13:38 of the second. Nevertheless, the Sharks’ third power play was miles better than their first. The new lines seemed to be finding a groove.

The Predators outshot the Sharks through the second period as they had done in the first, 13-10.

Brent Burns drew a hooking call on Shea Weber with a driving play that gave the Predators a scare at 4:05 of the third period. The Sharks held the zone for about 45 seconds before the Predators could push the first power play unit out of the zone. The next good chances fell to Bracken Kearns on the second unit. The Sharks had four shots on that power play.

With under two minutes left and the Sharks’ net empty, Nieto found Marleau in front of the net for a tip in to make it 2-3. Assists went to Nieto and Demers. Todd McLellan used his time out shortly thereafter, but the Sharks ran out of time.

The Sharks outshot the Predators in the third, to bring the final count even at 28. Nashville won 32 faceoffs to the Sharks’ 20. The Sharks got credit for 12 takeaways to the Predators’ 9. The Sharks’ power play finished 1/4, the Predators’ 0/1.

Brent Burns led the Sharks in shots with five, and Patrick Marleau had four.  Ryan Ellis and Roman Josi each had five for Nashville. Mike Brown led the Sharks in hits with five, while Rich Clune and Kevin Klein led the Predators with four each.

————————————

*More of what McLellan said about that non-call:

Does it make it tougher? That’s a blown call, and we played 44 games, I go back to the Buffalo blown call in overtime, I go to the blown call in Winnipeg. I go to one against Minnesota, and I go to another one tonight, and that’s one in every eleven games. And I understand mistakes, because I make a lot of them behind the bench. But when you get an explanation from a group of people and it didn’t happen, it’s disappointing. It really, really is disappointing. And there’s also a protocol to follow in our league. That protocol is you get together and you discuss it. That didn’t happen either. So obviously I’m not very happy with it.

The lines McLellan started with, and pretty much kept in place through the game were: Burns-Thornton-Pavelski, Nieto-Marleau-Kearns, Hamilton-Desjardins-Sheppard, and Hayes-McCarthy-Brown. Defensive pairs were Stuart-Demers, Boyle-Vlasic, and Braun-Irwin. The only healthy scratch was Scott Hannan.

Avalanche Win 4-3, Block Sharks Comeback

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From NHL.comBy Mary Walsh

DENVER- The Colorado Avalanche did not run roughshod over the San Jose Sharks, on their way to a 4-0 lead Saturday. What they did for a brief spell early in the second period was run around them. The Sharks looked to be in control of the game several times, except for their opponent’s scoring opportunities. Those squeaked through at first, then flowed as from an open spigot.

The game seemed all but over when the score reached 4-0, after the Avalanche scored three times in just over one minute in the second period. The Sharks scored twice in the same period, with the help from some power plays. A third tally from Logan Couture early in the third pulled a comeback within reach, but the Avalanche held on to win 4-3.

The Avalanche had two very good chances early in the game, getting the puck and bodies to the net. Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi made the saves but the Sharks seemed to start out a step behind the speedy Avs.

The Sharks had a couple of early shots, first from Andrew Desjardins and James Sheppard, and then from Matt Nieto on a line with Logan Couture and Patrick Marleau. After the five minute mark, the Sharks picked up their game and started racking up the chances. By the ten minute mark, the Avs had gone for six minutes without a shot.

Colorado finally did make a push the other way and Niemi had to glove a shot from John Mitchell to halt play. A moderate ruckus in front of the net ensued, with Andrew Desjardins in the middle of it. Cody McLeod caught the linesman with a stick but no penalties came out of it.

The Sharks took the game back after that, putting relentless pressure on the Avs, leaving Niemi with little to do except be ready for the occasional and very fast Colorado incursion. One such drew a penalty against the Sharks, when Justin Braun was called for hooking Matt Duchene, at 14:44 of the period.

It took the Colorado power play almost a minute, but they did make that power play pay off at 15:28. Andre Benoit shot the puck at the net from the blue line, and Nathan McKinnon tipped it in. Assists went to Benoit and Paul Stastny.

Shots for the period were 10-8 San Jose.

The Sharks started the second period with two dump-ins but no extended control of the puck, and then Sharks Captain Joe Thornton took an interference penalty on Ryan O’Reilly just 23 seconds in. The Sharks penalty killers minimized Colorado’s chances and survived the early setback.

The Sharks seemed to be getting their act together when a series of mistakes in their own zone created an opportunity for Jamie McGinn to score his ninth of the season, extending his goal streak to three games. Assist to Matt Duchene. That goal seemed to leave Niemi unsettled, and when a bouncing shot came down from the blue line and went by him 52 seconds later, Sharks Coach Todd McLellan replaced him with Alex Stalock. The goal went to Erik Johnson, with assists to Gabriel Landeskog and Paul Stastny.

Right off the faceoff, McKinnon sped into the Sharks zone and put a shot past Stalock, giving the Avs three goals in a minute, six seconds. The next faceoff started with a fight or two. Desjardins, Bracken Kearns and McLeod ended up in the box, giving the Avalanche a five-on-four power play.

37 seconds into the power play, Logan Couture drew a roughing call against Matt Duchene, putting the teams at four on four. 25 seconds later, Jan Hejda was called for slashing Joe Pavelski, giving the Sharks a brief five-on-three. While the Avalanche were busy knocking Couture down repeatedly in front of the blue paint, they missed Pavelski coming in to fire on an open net. That put the Sharks on the board with a minute left in the power play. Assists went to Marleau and Thornton. That penalty expired but seconds later, as Alex Stalock flew to the bench during a delayed penalty, Patrick Marleau came on to the ice and his quick shot brought the Sharks within two.

A chance in front of the Avalanche net ended with the net off its moorings and Desjardins fighting Max Talbot in the corner, after the linesman did make an effort to restrain them. Desjardins quickly took the upper hand in that one. While he and Talbot sat in the box for the fighting major, the Sharks put together some good time in the offensive zone, but the Avalanche kept them from finishing.

With just a minute and 46 seconds left in the period, Alex Stalock was penalized for delay of game after he played the puck over the glass. The Sharks kept the Avalanche power play from scoring before the end of the period.

The shot count for the second period was 13-9 San Jose.

The Sharks finished off the penalty kill to start the third period, and the game proceeded at a subdued pace. With five minutes gone, the Sharks were having trouble maintaining possession of the puck. After playing catch with the Avs in the neutral zone for nearly a minute, the puck finally landed on Couture’s stick so he could carry it into the zone with Marleau. A pass back to the blue line gave Scott Hannan a chance to shoot. Marleau couldn’t get the first rebound in but Couture was there to grab the second one, and put it past Varlamov. That cut Colorado’s lead to one at 5:44 of the third period. Assists went to Marleau and Hannan.

The Sharks had a power play at of the third, when James Sheppard and Jan Hejda collided in front of the Avs net. The refs called Hejda for interference. The Sharks couldn’t score on that power play, despite many close calls. A series of failures to keep the puck in burned seconds off that power play. With about a minute and a half left, McLellan pulled Stalock for the extra attacker, but the Sharks still couldn’t sustain pressure in the offensive zone. The Avalanche held on for the 4-3 win.

Patrick Marleau was the game’s points leader with a goal and two assists. Joe Pavelski led the Sharks in shots with seven, Erik Johnson led the Avalanche with five. The Sharks’ power play went 1/3, their penalty kill 3/4. Antti Niemi stopped 11 of 14 shots, Alex Stalock stopped 6 of 7 for the Sharks.

Roster Notes:
Eriah Hayes made a difficult trip through a storm to get to Denver from Boston, but he did not crack the Sharks lineup. Mike Brown, hit twice by friendly fire at the end of the game against the Oilers in San Jose, was good to go. Tommy Wingels, however, was still not able to play and has been placed on IR for an upper body injury, not a head injury.

Sharks rebound against Oilers

Published on by Ivan MakarovLeave a comment
SAN JOSE, CA - JANUARY 02: Bracken Kearns #38 of the San Jose Sharks is congratulated by teammates after he scored a goal against the Edmonton Oilers at SAP Center on January 2, 2014 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CA – JANUARY 02: Bracken Kearns #38 of the San Jose Sharks is congratulated by teammates after he scored a goal against the Edmonton Oilers at SAP Center on January 2, 2014 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

By Ivan Makarov

SAN JOSE, CA — After splitting the series against their division rival Anaheim Ducks with a win and a loss, and ending it on a bad note, having suffered 6-3 loss in their last game, San Jose Sharks looked to redeem themselves against Edmonton Oilers back in San Jose on Thursday night. Coach Todd McLellan even addressed the team after a big loss, hoping to send a message to the team after allowing six goals.

San Jose proved they are a better team than Edmonton both through how they played and on the scoreboard, rebounding after poor play in Southern California on New Years Eve. Brent Burns, Patrick Marleau, Bracken Kearns, Logan Couture and Joe Pavelski scored for the Sharks, while Nail Yakupov scored for the Oilers in what ended as the home team sailed to a comfortable 5-1 win.

The game was never close, as Sharks got up 4-0 lead before the game was even half way over. They played a good game for most of the 60 minutes, and were all smiles in the locker room after the game – both the players and the coaches.

“We were ready to go as soon as the puck dropped,” said Sharks captain Joe Thornton. “For a full 60 we kept the pressure on and dictated a pace of the game. We are a team that when we lose one, we’d like to get back to the next one. We proved that tonight.”

Todd McLellan was likewise positive after the game, saying he felt his message after the loss to the Anahaim got through to the players. “Our role players played pretty good roles tonight. You saw shots blocked. There was some physicality. They won battles. We checked well, so that was a good sign. Then the go-to offensive guys were productive as well. It was a good effort.”

Sharks did not get the quick goals like they used to in many home games this season to kick things off, as they looked a bit rusty in the very beginning. But things started to click for them as the first period progressed. Sharks had no trouble entering the zone and setting up, and the goals came with time.

Brent Burns scored his 13th goal of the season at 14:37 mark after receiving a good setup from Joe Pavelski who saw Burns wide open to his right. Shortly after that goal, Patrick Marleau made it 2-0 as he stripped the puck from Nail Yakupov, whose defensive struggles are well documented this season by the media and his league worst -25 stat this season before this game. Sharks former captain zipped right past the Oilers defense and capped the play with a hard wrist shot past Devan Dubnyk.

Oilers did not put too much fight after that, but the Sharks kept pushing forward and had most of the scoring chances, which resulted in two more goals. Bracken Kearns continued his hot streak, scoring his third goals in just four games in the second period at 7:18 mark.

A minute later another defensive misread in the neutral zone gave Logan Couture a chance to shine on a clear breakaway, and also to continue his scoring streak at three games in a row. Sharks forward picked up the speed, and left Dubnyk no chance to make a save with his signature wrister into the top corner.  That kind of a goal came timely for Logan, as Team Canada is finalizing their roster for the Winter Olympic game in Sochi, which will be announced next Tuesday, with Logan no doubt improving his chances to make the team with plays like this.

Oilers went on to score on Antti Niemi as the embattled Yakupov made it 4-1 towards the end of the second period on a wrist shot in front of Antti Niemi. Russian forward celebrated his seventh goal of the season with quite the passion, getting on his knee and fist pumping. But Sharks are one of the best home teams in the league this season, and they just kept on doing what worked for them all game long – good forecheck, physical game, fast transitions and solid defense against young but struggling Edmonton team. That turned out to be enough to score another goal later in the third period, and seal 5-1 victory.

Sharks will play the next three games on the road in Denver, Nashville and Chicago before returning to face the Red Wings at home.

Two Milestone Goals Lift Sharks Over Ducks

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By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE- In a 3-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks, one Shark scored his first NHL goal, another scored his 100th, and the Sharks-Ducks home ice advantage grew a little more. In seven of the last eight games between the two, the win has gone to the home team. The Sharks’ win was tarnished, however, by an injury to Tommy Wingels. Wingels left the game in the first period and did not return.

Logan Couture’s recent trouble scoring goals might be explained in hindsight by the fact that it was his 100th he was trying to score. Such a milestone is bound to play a little hard to get. Bracken Kearns was chasing his first, though he hadn’t had may chances to score it. The audience at SAP Center was suitably appreciative of the occasion, and continued to respond enthusiastically every time Kearns turned up on the video screen.

The Sharks’ best line of late tore into the Ducks defense early, pelting Andersen with shots and staying just a step ahead of the Ducks defenders. Andersen did well to stop as many as he did but finally Brent Burns put one past him from just a few feet in front of the blue paint. The first goal of the game was scored just over a minute in. Assists went to Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton.

Pavelski was called for interference at 6:48. The second penalty killing unit to get on the ice included Andrew Desjardins, Joe Thornton, Justin Braun and Marc-Edouard Vlasic. The unit set up a good short-handed chance for Thornton and Desjardins, who made their way into the Ducks’ zone two on one and managed a couple of shots on Anderson, even after the Ducks’ defense caught up with them.

Logan Couture got off the schneid with panache, carrying the puck through the neutral zone, skating around two Ducks defenders and stick-handling his way to the net to score his 100th career goal with a backhand. The goal put the Sharks up 2-0, at 10:07 of the period. Assists went to Brent Burns and Jason Demers.

With a little over five minutes left in the first, the Ducks had a series of good chances in the Sharks’ zone, while the Sharks were caught mid-line change and unable to get the puck out. Finally Niemi was able to glove it. Kearns, Brown and Kennedy took the ice for the defensive zone draw with Stuart and Demers on defense. Kearns won the faceoff and got the puck back to Demerws but Demers couldn’t clear it the first time. They had to try again. The third line managed to move play into the Ducks’ zone, where the Couture line took over, but the Ducks quickly drove them into the neutral zone.

Todd McLellan moved Matt Nieto to the second line when Tommy Wingels went awkwardly into the boards early in the first. Wingels appeared for another shift but then went to the dressing room and would not return to the game.

First period ended 2-0 Sharks, with shots on goal at 14-13 Anaheim.

Almost ten minutes elapsed in the second, including the end of a San Jose power play to start the period, when Andrew Desjardins carried the puck behind the Ducks’ net. Under pressure he managed to pass the puck out in front where the late-arriving Bracken Kearns picked it up in the slot and scored his first NHL goal. Assists went to Desjardins and Mike Brown.

With 7:50 left in the second, Daniel Winnik was caught in the face with the butt end of a Shark’s stick. He stayed down for some time and got up with blood near his eye but no penalty was called. Logan Couture represented the Sharks in a brief conference with the referee at center ice. It did appear to be incidental contact, but Winnik and the Ducks were understandably agitated about it.

The second period ended with the Ducks still ahead on the shot clock, 24-19, but the Sharks ahead 3-0 on the score board.

The Sharks got their second power play of the game at 8:47 of the third period when Corey Perry went to the box for a high hit on Brad Stuart. The Sharks’ power play didn’t pay off and a successful penalty kill energized the Ducks. It still took them a few shifts to score.

Antti Niemi’s shut-out bid ended at 11:32 of the third, when a quick pass from behind the Sharks’ net found Patrick Maroon with no one in front of him. A shot just indside the far post brought the score to 3-1. Assists went to Corey Perry and Cam Fowler.

The game ended without any further scoring and the Sharks won 3-1. The final shot count had the Ducks still on top with 31 to the Sharks’ 23.

The Ducks’ shots leaders for the game were Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Kyle Pamieri, credited with three each. For the Sharks, Brent Burns led the team with 5 shots. Mike Brown led the Sharks in hits with five, followed by Kearns with four. Mark Fistric and Patrick Maroon led the Ducks with five hits each.

The three stars of the game were Brent Burns, Antti Niemi, and Bracken Kearns.

Joe Thornton, Power Play Ease Absence of Hertl

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew Harrington

SAN JOSE, CA – On a day when Sharks fans received coal in their stockings it was a man known for his beard, larger-than-life figure and propensity for giving to others that delivered a present to San Jose fans. With the news that rookie-phenom, Youtube sensation and dream aficionado Tomas Hertl would require surgery on his knee, injured on a knee-on-knee hit by Los Angeles forward Dustin Brown last Thursday, Jumbo Joe delivered a Sharks victory over the red-hot Colorado Avalanche in a 5-4 shootout at the SAP Center Monday night. Jolly Old Saint Joe erased any fears of a dip in production without his usual running mate, wrapping up the second-straight Sharks win in games without Hertl with a bow on top.

The Sharks captain finished the night with what should be called a Joe Thornton hat trick, assisting on three of San Jose’s four regulation goals in 20:22 of ice time. His second assists of the night, coming on line-mate Brent Burns’ tenth goal of the season was an absolute work of art. Thornton curled along the boards to shake an Avalanche skater before feeding a streaking Burns with a backhand pass to the tape of Burns’ stick. Burns fired the trigger in the slot point-black to tie the game.

It’s not the first time Burns has been the prime beneficiaries of Thornton’s play this season, notching 19 points (10g, 9A) in just 24 games while skating primarily on a line with the Captain but it’s rookie Hertl’s chemistry with the two veteran forwards that had people taking notice. The youngster established himself as an offensive force with 15 goals already this season on the left wing beside Thornton and Burns. Now the Sharks, already struggling for offense amidst power play woes and a Logan Couture scoring slump faced the quandary of replacing another potent offensive weapon.

“I think you’ve seen it, we’re confident in our group,” said Brent Burns. “We have a lot of elite skill. Sometimes it’s just about switching it up.”

Coach Todd McLellan held open auditions to fill Hertl’s vacancy on the top trio on Saturday, shuffling lines in the Sharks 3-2 shootout defeat of the visiting Dallas Stars. While Jumbo Joe scored the game-winner in the skills competition Saturday, the more promising sign that the Sharks could sustain the loss of Hertl is Thornton’s connection with Joe Pavelski.

“He’s playing well,” praised Thornton of the Plover, Wisconsin Native. “He finds himself in front of the net wide open. He just has such a nice shot. Tonight he just complemented me and Burns so well. He’s such a smart player, he’s feeling it right now.”

How sizzling is Pavelski? Twice Pavelski and Thornton have combined to produce points in the standings out of nothing Pavelski received a Thornton pass for a dramatic goal to force a shoot-out Saturday night then again Monday the Thornton to Pavelski connected on late-game heroics, with diminutive Joe tying the game with Antti Niemi pulled and 20 seconds remaining in regulation.

“Pavs has been a real clutch player over the past two weeks,” said McLellan. “He’s the go-to guy. He’s been getting it done. We’re happy for him and we’re happy for us.”

McLellan is likely more satisfied with the sudden gelling of a power play that was empty on its last 13 opportunities. McLellan scrapped the stagnant groupings of five and introduced two new power play units Monday night, with the results paying immediate dividends to the tune of a 2-for-4 clip. Jason Demers and Matt Irwin each cashed in on man-advantage opportunities, with both blue liners scoring from point shots with traffic in front.

“That’s the reason, pretty much, why you win or lose in the NHL right now,” said Thornton. ”Your penalty kill has to be good and your power play has to be good. Our power play hasn’t been very good but we’ve been able to win a couple games without it but it’s something we needed.”

Other than recapping the play of the evening, McLellan played coy with the media regarding the more difficult questions regarding player confidence.

“It’s Christmas, let’s all go home and enjoy it,” ended McLellan. “I’ll answer those questions when we come back.”

Sharks win a thriller against the Avs

Published on by Ivan MakarovLeave a comment

By Ivan Makarov

SAN JOSE, CA — Ever since San Jose Sharks played Colorado Avalanche in the playoffs series back in in the 2010 Stanley Cup, the games between the two teams had a rivalry feel to them. They were often packed with big hits, fights and back and forth scoreboard. The next matchup at SAP Center on Monday night was no exception, and had all that. The Sharks came out on top against the Avs, winning their ninth straight at home against them, this time by the score of 5-4 in a shootout.

Colorado Avalanche is a young team on the rise. Having not qualified for a playoffs spot since that series against the Sharks almost four years ago, they were rebuilding through lottery picks in the NHL draft, including picking up Nathan MacKinnon as the first overall pick last summer (he went on to score in the game). They also went through a coaching switch, hiring their former player and a hockey legend Patrick Roy who made his NHL head coaching debut this season. All the changes are now paying off, as Colorado were just two points behind the Sharks in the stranding coming into this game.

Avs got the first lead in the game. Their rookie McKinnon scored his eighth goal of the season to break the scoring in the game half way through the first period, with a wrist shot on the power play. Sharks’ Jason Demers tied the game three minutes later, also on the power play, scoring with a big heavy slap shot from just above the face-offs circle as Joe Thornton laid a great pass for him.

Colorado took the next lead in the game, with their captain Gabe Landeskog scoring at the end of the first period, capitalizing on a fast transition, leaving him wide open in front of Antti Niemi, who was unable to react in time. That’s how these new Avs play – counter attacking, and moving the puck fast throughout the ice. That left the game 2-1 in favor of the visiting team, going into the first intermission.

Besides the exciting action, the game also featured two fights in that period. First Mike Brown knocked out Cody McLeod with repeated punches, sending his opponent to the dressing room with blood all over his face. Few minutes after that former Shark Jamie McGinn dropped the gloves with Brad Stuart to get the crowd even more riled up.

Sharks came back firing on all cylinders in the second period. They played faster, more focused and went to the net at every opportunity. The increased pressure resulted in two goals – one by Brent Burns and another one by Cody Irwin – both from the top of the face-off circles. The home team did not give much room for the Avs to come back either, and Joe Thornton said after the game that he thought that the Sharks played the best single period of the whole season, as they took 3-2 lead going into the third period.

It seemed as if the Sharks would finish the game with a victory as the game was winding down, but that’s not how the Avalanche saw it. They not only tied the game with less than two minutes left, but took 4-3 lead scoring just 12 second after the tying goal. San Jose pulled the goaltender for an extra skater, and climbed back into the game on a goal by Joe Pavelski.

Sharks could have ended the game in overtime, getting a golden 4-on-3 power play opportunity, but came up empty, taking the game into a shootout.

Antti Niemi stopped all his two tries by McKinnon and Matt Douchene, while Logan Couture and Patrick Marleau scored on their tries, letting the Sharks earn the extra point over their opponent.

While it was frustrating for the team and for the Sharks coach Todd McLellan to end the third period like that, the fact that they came back and still won the game helped them go on a short Christmas break in a happier mood.

“A wild finish,” said McLellan describing the game. “It’s disappointing that we couldn’t hold on, for whatever reason. You saw it in the third – we went on our heels. We didn’t back off. To come back and respond with a goaltender pulled, it alleviates some of that.”

The Sharks next travel to Phoenix where they take on another divisional rival Phoenix Coyotes on Friday.

Sharks Lose to Kings 4-1, Hertl Injured

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

By Mary Walsh

LOS ANGELES- It appears that the Visitor’s Curse still haunts the San Jose Sharks at Staples Center. The mischievous spirit might even be getting more violent. Thursday night, the Sharks lost to the Kings by a score of 4-1. They also lost star forward and rookie Tomas Hertl to a knee-on-knee hit from LA’s Dustin Brown. How long the team will be without Hertl is not yet clear.

The fact that the Kings won was not at all out of the ordinary for these teams, the home team has won going back 15 games now. What was unusual was the score: 4-1. It has been some time since a game between these two ended with such a lopsided result. Patrick Marleau, playing his 1200th NHL game, scored the only Sharks goal.

McLellan made a couple of lineup changes for Thursday’s game, including moving Martin Havlat to the second line with Logan Couture and Patrick Marleau. He put Scott Hannan back in, paired with Brad Stuart. He also put Tyler Kennedy in, on the fourth line with Mike Brown and Andrew Desjardins.

The first penalty of the game went to the Kings at 3:25, to Drew Doughty for holding. The Sharks had several good chances, a couple that looked like dead certainties (one for Couture, another for Irwin) but they missed. The Kings had a good short-handed chance late in the penalty but Niemi gloved it.

The Sharks lost a lot of races to the Kings in the first period. Dump-ins were about as effective as turnovers. As a result, the Sharks were outshot through most of the period, though by the end of it they were only behind 13-11.

With a minute left in the period, the Kings’ Dustin Brown collided with Tomas Hertl just inside the Sharks’ zone. The knee-on-knee hit earned him a five minute major. Hertl left the ice hobbling. During the ensuing delayed penalty, Brent Burns earned a penalty for interference. The teams finished the period playing 4-on-4. James Sheppard was tapped to fill in for Tomas Hertl on the Thornton line.

The second period started with the teams still at 4-on-4, and when Burns’ penalty expired the Sharks still had over 2:30 left on the man advantage. The Sharks finally found a way to sustain pressure, but two good chances in close and an Irwin shot off the post were all the Sharks had to show for the power play.

The Kings’ goaltender Martin Jones was very good, but the Sharks were unable to take advantage of the second chances they did create. As McLellan said before the game, how well Jones has played was not the Sharks’ biggest challenge:

I think for our group it’s more about preparing to face six players rather than one goaltender. The five others that are on the ice do a tremendous job for them defensively and they position themselves well around the net, it allows the goaltender to feel comfortable and make a lot of saves. They’ve been successful playing that way. It’s not just the guy wearing the pads, it’s the other five that you’ve got to beat as well.

The first goal of the game came at 5:26 of the second, scored from above the left circle by the Kings’ Alec Martinez, with an assist to Tyler Toffoli. The goal came from a shot made possible when the Sharks failed to clear the puck or control it despite several tries. At least three, maybe four Sharks touched it in the defensive zone before Martinez got it.

Joe Thornton was called for holding against Anze Kopitar at 9:03. Despite starting in their own zone, the Sharks’ penalty killers (including Mike Brown now) cleared the puck five times and even got a couple of short-handed shots off. As soon as the power play expired, however, Slava Voynov made a clean pass from the Kings’ zone, right onto Tyler Toffoli’s stick at the Sharks’ blue line. He skated in and put a shot in the far corner to give the Kings a 2-0 lead.

An impressive series of saves by Martin Jones was punctuated by three inexplicably failed shots from Sharks Joe Pavelski and Tommy Wingels. Wingels even tried from both sides of the net, and he almost poked it in behind Jones but the rookie goaltender twisted around and stopped it with his glove.

During the second period, the teams were even in shots at ten, with total shots being 23-20 for the Kings. Of course, the 2-0 score was more significant, especially since the Kings had not lost when leading after the second since March 30.

Instead of challenging that pattern, the Sharks gave up another goal 36 seconds into the third period. Jeff Carter was given far too much time in the Sharks’ zone, and an ill-advised slide to block a shot left Niemi alone with one of the better shots in the league. Assists went to Dwight King and Robyn Regehr.

The Sharks drew another penalty when Jake Muzzin pushed Martin Havlat into the boards from behind. From camera distance, Havlat didn’t appear injured but he was certainly shoved from behind. He was out playing a shift later on the second power play unit.

The Kings killed the penalty off, and then they scored again. This time it was Dwight King’s goal, with the assists going to Carter and Regehr.

The Sharks got another chance on the power play when Mike Richards went to the box for high-sticking at 6:37. As soon as the penalty expired, the Kings went the other way 3 on 2, but didn’t score.

With just over two minutes left in the game, San Jose’s second line made it in to the Kings’ zone and Marleau scored his 16th of the season. A lone assist went to Martin Havlat.

The final shot count was preposterously even at 32 for each team. The Sharks’ power play went 0-4, their penalty kill was 1-0.

The Sharks play their next game at home on Saturday against the Dallas Stars. Puck drop at 7:30 pm.